Scofield Reservoir
| Scofield Reservoir is located in the higher altitudes of central Utah. Click here for map. Altitude is 7,600 feet. Camping is available.
There are three state parks on the reservoir. Much of the shoreline is taken up by private
cabins -- diving spots can be found in the parks and "here and there" along the
roads that circle the lake. Photo: Scofield from the east
shore looking south |
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The water: Midsummer surface temperature is 65 degrees.
The lake is quite shallow, with maximum depth around 30 feet. Visibility is best in early
spring at 10-12 feet. Once the algae blooms, visibility reduces to 5-8 feet. Due to the
shallow depth, there's no thermocline (during the time of year we've dived Scofield).
During the heavy algae season, it's almost dark at 30 feet. In the photo, note the strands
of algae. Photo: Mike Engberson w Sea & Sea MX-10 at
Scofield |
| What to see: At about 4-6 feet depth, you'll encounter
beds of moss. Individual strands stand about a foot high. At around 20 feet depth, there's
not enough sunlight to support plant growth, and the bottom becomes a vast plain of mud. Photo: a crawdad crawls through the moss |
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In the shallows, you may encounter a few small fish. Most of the big fish will move away, staying just out of sight. If you don't see any fish, try switching to snorkel in the shallows and squirt some Cheez Whiz onto the rocks. Then wait. Photo: a few small fish eye the photographer |
| Crayfish are EVERYWHERE -- in the moss, around the rocks, on the plains of
the bottom. You may see 10-20 crawdads at once, raising dust trails as they scoot away
from you. You could easily grab 100 or more during a dive. Our CPF (Crawdads Per Foot)
Index for Scofield is 0.9! Cook some crayfish (it's good for the
lake to eliminate a few of them). Photo: A
crawdad bursts into backward flight |
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Scofield is a popular trout fishing lake. But you won't see the trout
during the day. If you want to see the big fish, you need to dive at night. The best place
to find them is near the moss edges. The fish will approach the flashlight, often bumping
right into it. Picture: Rainbow trout |
| Exposure: You'll want your full set: farmer john and
jacket, hood, and gloves. Fees: There's a $4 fee to enter the state parks. |
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Regulations: Spearfishing is prohibited in Scofield, but you can grab a lot of crayfish. (See "Regulations" below for rules on crayfish and spearfishing.) |
| Facilities: Nearest air fills are at Water World in Orem's University Mall. Nearest town is Helper, 35 miles away. |
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Our recommendation: Scofield is a fun dive! Imagine herds of crawdads raising clouds of dust like a silent stampede of buffalo. You can collect more protein in a half-hour dive than you could catch with a hook all day. The crawdad action more than makes up for the limited visibility. See our altitude camera precautions and the altitude-adjusted dive depths.
Getting there: Click here for map. Take I-15 south to Spanish Fork, then turn east up Spanish Fork Canyon on US-6/US-89. Keep on US-6. Past Soldier's Summit 6 miles, watch for U-96 going south (right).
